To wonder if addiction is a choice

[BarbaraAnnee]

I am sorry if this sounds insensitive to some people but I just wondered what people thought of this. A relative of mine is an alcoholic and due to her being unfit, her parents have had to permanently look after her DD. I feel so bad for her and just wondered if she really loved her DD she would just stop drinking?

You seem to be conflating two different issues here.

Addiction is a CHRONIC BRAIN DISEASE.

People do not CHOOSE to become addicts.

Addiction makes you engage in behaviors that become compulsive despite the harmful consequences.

You are being so willfully black and white about it. By your logic, no one should ever have any sort of addiction or mental or physical ailment because 'well, there is help out there.'

The second issue that you are being so embarassingly thick about is how easy it s to access treatment.

My brother is an alcoholic. When you drink that extent, it physically makes changes in your brain. He ended up in hospital, and was told 'If you stop drinking, you die. You must continue to drink two litres of vodka a day, or you will die. You must seek help for medical withdrawal. We cannot help with that. Bye.'

Medical withdrawal assistance and rehab costs at least £12K.

Why pray tell am I ignorant?

The animation shows a character repeatedly accessing something that makes it feel good that very quickly stops making them feel good. It isn't a newsflash is it that that happens?

Don't you agree it would have been more helpful if it had infact included a bit at the end that the character stopped accessing the golden nugget and felt good all by itself? Or is that a bit too obvious and doesn't play into the disease/can't help it narrative?

But they chose to start. Nothing's ever anyone's fault now we can hang a label on it.

No, addiction is not a chronic brain disease. I think the more people believe that, the more they will justify their addictions. Mental health is an illness and there is help out there but as I keep saying, it does not come to you, you have to push for it.

'When you drink that extent, it physically makes changes in your brain. He ended up in hospital, and was told 'If you stop drinking, you die. You must continue to drink two litres of vodka a day, or you will die. You must seek help for medical withdrawal. We cannot help with that. Bye'

With respect, nonsense. No hcp would ever advise you/your brother to carry swigging 2L vodka a day or you /he would die. It's typical enabling talk. That amount would kill anyone eventually.

The person would need to reduce slowly obviously with support which is available.

Also, people know what they are doing is wrong, when it gets a to a point when they need a drink more and more, it is time to address it.

Say for instance, I was drinking a bottle of wine per night and it was creeping up over a few weeks/months. I would try to stop/cut down myself, failing that I would seek help before I got to the point where I needed 2 litres of vodka to survive,

You can google to fact check that

https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drug-misuse-addiction

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5503469/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-addiction-a-brain-disease-201603119260

It changes they reward system in the brain, like anything, that is when you start to address it, not spiral.

OMG AMAZING! CANT BELIEVE YOU JUST CURED ADDICTION!

Give it up for Barbara everyone!

You better call the World Health Organisation so they know that people just need to you know...not to it.

You need to click the links to read them.

I would say that its a mental health issue to begin with but I don't agree that its 100% illness! I was addicted to a substance for nearly 8 years and mental health issues caused by trauma are what caused me to become addicted in the first place! However it was my choice whether i just carried on with the addiction or got clean and sorted my life out! I have been clean for years now and have no respect for those that choose to remain addicted over their children, families etc! They are not helpless in the outcome unlike a real illness such as cancer, they can change things if they choose to!!!

No worries KAREN

Oh so you're saying people should claim DLA because they smoke too much crack/drink too much vodka? imagine what the world would look like then!

But there are steps way before it takes everything.....

'This impairment in self-control is the hallmark of addiction.'

From one of the links. No shit Sherlock.

Out of curiosity, what would you say the hardest addiction to overcome is?

Did you suffer from chills and sweating, stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting, palpitations? Were you climbing the walls? If not, then no, you probably weren’t addicted.

I had no dependents, he had four small children. He stole money from the family, my Mum never really recovered. You have no idea what was going on in his arrogant head so stop. Just stop it.

What people suffer that from their first vodka? No, they don't, they choose to carry on and on and on and swig more and more .

Because it isnt a disability, it is a lifestyle choice that people refuse to get help for. There are so many steps from taking a substance to addiction, help can be provided way before somebody's life is ruined? Surely you can see that. I also dont think people like to admit that their parents were neglectful as understandably you love them and want to see the best in them.

Addiction is not a lifestyle choice.

Lifestyle choices can result in addiction for a myriad of reasons.